Area teams enjoy success at season-opening UNK Indoor prep track meet

KEARNEY, Neb. -- Several area high school track and field teams competed in the Class C and Class D divisions in the three-day UNK Indoor meet at the University of Nebraska-Kearney's Cushing Coliseum.

In Class C competition held Saturday, March 17, the Arapahoe girls were fourth in a tight race for the girls team title. The Warriors scored 55 points, behind champion Hastings St. Cecelia with 63, runner-up Ord with 60, and third-place Kearney Catholic with 58. The Southern Valley girls also finished 10th with 15 points.

In the Class C boys division, Arapahoe was eighth with 28 points, and Southern Valley finished 10th with 23.

Alexa Whipple had a strong day for the Arapahoe girls. Whipple, a junior, won the 200-meter dash with a time of 29.14 seconds. Whipple also won the triple jump with a mark of 32 feet, 8 inches. She also placed fourth in the 55-meter dash at 8.00 seconds.

Alyssa Downey finished third in the girls 55-meter hurdles with her time of 9.88 seconds. Downey also placed fifth in the long jump at 14-9.

Arapahoe teammate Rochelle Wendland placed third in the girls high jump at 4-10. Wendland also placed fourth in the 400-meter dash with a time of 1 minute, 8.66 seconds.

Southern Valley's girls were paced by Sara Lennemann, who won the pole vault as she cleared 9 feet even.

In the Class C boys division, Arapahoe's top finishers included Trev Haussler with a second-place throw of 49 feet, 9 1/4 inches in the shot put, and Austin Hyke with a pair of top four efforts in the jumps. Hyke finished third in the long jump at 19-3 and fourth in the triple jump at 39-2.

Southern Valley's Jeremiah Perkins won the boys Class C high jump when he cleared 5 feet, 8 inches. Teammate Alex Kaup ran second in the mile run at 4 minutes, 58.15 seconds.

Class D Thursday

The Gazette area had a strong representation at the Class D competition Thursday, March 15 at Kearney.

Three area teams finished in the top 10 in the girls division, led by Eustis-Farnam's second-place effort with 44 points. Bertrand was first with 74 points.

Hitchcock County finished sixth with 24 points, and Maywood tied for ninth with 20 points. Cambridge also placed 15th in the girls division with 11 points.

The Cambridge boys were strong with a third-place effort with 51 points, trailing champion Twin Loup with 93 and South Loup with 66. Eustis-Farnam placed 14th with 4 points.

Hitchcock County and Maywood's boys team did not score points.

Andrea Werth led the Eustis-Farnam girls by scoring points in four events. Werth ran second in the girls 400-meter dash with a time of 1 minute, 1.30 seconds. Andrea also placed third in the 55 hurdles at 9.33 seconds and third in the high jump at 5 feet even.

Werth teamed with McKenna Rieker, Inga Schummel and Bryn Bellamy to win the 1,600-meter relay with a time of 4:26.36.

Bellamy also finished second in the 800 at 2:39.33 and third in the 400 at 1:03.33.

Top efforts from the Hitchcock County girls included Laramey Lewis, second in the 55-meter dash at 7.75 seconds; Jacee Kershaw, fourth in the 55 hurdles at 9.52; Alexis Bantz third in the pole vault at 7-6; and Lesley Stehno, third in the long jump at 15 feet, 3 inches.

Jordin Wasson of Cambridge claimed a gold medal in the girls triple jump with her top mark of 32 feet, 6 1/2 inches.

Maywood was paced by Tess Whitman with a second-place throw in the shot put at 34-10 1/2, with teammate Abby Werkmeister fourth at 34-2 3/4. Justine Stone also finished third in the girls mile run at 6:05.03.

Shoff's strong start

In the boys Class D division, Cambridge senior Mike Shoff got a strong start to the season with a winning shot put mark of 55 feet, 2 inches. Shoff is the defending Class C boys shot put state champion. Teammate Zane Petersen was thirdat Kearney at 48-5.

Kaden Huxoll of Cambridge also won the 55-meter dash at 6.72 seconds, with teammate Ethan Long placing fourth at 6.96. Huxoll also finished fourth in the 400-meter dash at 56.67. Kalen Farr scored in two individual events for the Trojans. Farr finished third in the 55 hurdles at 8.56 and fifth in the pole vault at 12-0.

Jordan Wetovick of Eustis-Farnam finished fourth in the 55 hurdles at 8.83.